I recently nabbed this Chiefs jersey of Brett Perriman that he wore in a thrilling Monday night game against the Raiders in 1997.
As a ‘90s kid, I’m stoked about getting this one. Brett Perriman was an under-appreciated receiver throughout that decade, with his biggest year coming in 1995 when he and Herman Moore became the first teammates to ever tally 100 catches each in the same season.
Perriman signed with the Chiefs in ‘97 after being let go by the Lions. This jersey was listed on eBay as an issued jersey rather than a game-used jersey, likely because it shows minimal signs of wear. I pulled up Getty Images and found image 1784871 of Perriman from that season wearing this style of jersey, and after carefully comparing it against the listing photos for about an hour (really), I felt confident it was the same jersey. That opinion was conclusively proven once I had it in hand and was able to look even closer.
Perriman only caught 2 passes for 37 yards in this jersey, but both were critical to the Chief’s 28-27 Week 2 victory. The first came late in the second quarter and helped set up a field goal, and the second came on a 3rd and 10 with 30 seconds left in the game that led to a Grbac-to-Rison touchdown pass to seal it with 3 seconds left. Al Davis looked pretty unhappy in the telecast.
Perriman was waived by the Chiefs weeks later, signed with the Dolphins to finish out the season, then rode off into the sunset.
This is the oldest NFL gamer in my collection and it brings me joy to know that I own one from a great player I watched growing up.
